Western Themed Weddings

Formal isn’t so much as popular as it once was and many couples are looking for fun and festive instead of formal. One way to achieve this and stick to a budget is to have a western wedding. This can be quite easy to do if you live in the Southwestern area of the country, where western style is as much a part of everyday life as breathing. You don’t necessarily have to live in places like Laredo or Austin, Texas to have a western wedding but you will need to be somewhat creative. Consider an old fashioned looking wedding dress and ask your groom to dress in starched black jeans and cowboy boots polished to a shine. Add a crisp white shirt, a bolero string tie and a Stetson hat and you’ve got yourself a hunk of a cowboy groom. If you are planning to have a western wedding, it is well worth it to look into booking a dude ranch for the day or even the weekend. A dude ranch may well be able to handle your catering and because the site will already be decorated to the hilt in western style, it can cut down on the decorations you need to make or purchase. If a dude ranch is out of consideration due to price or location, consider having your wedding outside along a split rail fence. For a truly western look, you might consider riding up to your groom on horseback. Braid your horse’s tail with wedding flowers and ribbon. This, of course, is only advisable if you have actually been on a horse before! The day of your wedding is definitely not the time to give it a try. Bandanas are quite cheap and can be purchased in bulk from places like Oriental Trading Company. You can do quite a bit with bandanas. Think about using them for napkins or placemats at your reception. What about fashioning wedding favors from them and filling them with nuts? Many wedding supply stores also sell miniature cowboy hats that make great favor items for a western wedding. Scatter around a few bales of hay to add to your western wedding theme. Use wildflowers in your bouquet and your centerpieces to round out your western theme. When it comes to food, barbecue is an absolute must for your western wedding. Most caterers, especially those in the Southwest, are quite capable of handing this type food and you’ll probably be surprised at how reasonable the price is. Start interviewing country and western bands as soon as you decide to have a western wedding. Your guests will love the opportunity to cut a rug to some great country songs. Consider hiring a photographer who can develop your wedding photographs in black and white or with a sepia tone. This will complete the look of your western wedding and will be fun to look back on in years to come.